Periodic Reporting for period 4 - DEMOS (DEMOnStrators of micro waves efficiency for agrifood industry)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2016-10-01 do 2017-09-30
Plant proteins are more than ever a question for future generations. Unfortunately, today's Europe is suffering from a strong chronic dependence on protein imports from the Americas. Important work is underway among food industry manufacturers (human and animal) to reduce dependence and develop consumer products based on plant proteins with superior characteristics. Procedural improvements are being sought in this context to increase quality, while reducing the environmental and energy footprint. It is always searched for soluble proteins while offering the best control of their physiological and functional properties (digestion, allergenicity, bioactivity, organoleptic characteristics,...). It should be remembered here that the conventional cooking system is responsible for this bad result by losing half of the value the quality of the protein.
Because the demos machines will allow to produce and transfer the products the fair amount of electromagnetic energy to the appropriate frequency
Because the demos process uses the latest technological advances to manage and control the transfer of energy very precisely
Our cwr equipment, developed by these 3 Smes with programme Demos, opens the way for industrial integration of a system of covering quality of food quality
To access the markets, the three smes benefiting from SME - instrument should demonstrate the industrial reality of their prototype. We had to demonstrate our ability to manage the scale - up of the cwr microwave equipment for factories to the processing capacities of several tonnes per hour. With several pilot clients, we also demonstrated the ability of our system of cooking (quick precise) to improve the technical qualities of products and especially plant proteins, while reducing the chemicals used. The challenge was raised to reduce energy consumption, to remain competitive with the steam - classic cooking process and to provide alternative to solvent extraction, while ensuring economic profitability.
With new commercial targets we have provided technical solutions, whenever the transfer of energy was complex and expensive.
Because the demos machines will allow to produce and transfer the products the fair amount of electromagnetic energy to the appropriate frequency
Because the demos process uses the latest technological advances to manage and control the transfer of energy very precisely
Our cwr equipment, developed by these 3 Smes with programme Demos, opens the way for industrial integration of a system of covering quality of food quality
To access the markets, the three smes benefiting from SME - instrument should demonstrate the industrial reality of their prototype. We had to demonstrate our ability to manage the scale - up of the cwr microwave equipment for factories to the processing capacities of several tonnes per hour. With several pilot clients, we also demonstrated the ability of our system of cooking (quick precise) to improve the technical qualities of products and especially plant proteins, while reducing the chemicals used. The challenge was raised to reduce energy consumption, to remain competitive with the steam - classic cooking process and to provide alternative to solvent extraction, while ensuring economic profitability.
With new commercial targets we have provided technical solutions, whenever the transfer of energy was complex and expensive.
Our first goal was to build the equipment:
The T0 to T6 was a very important phase. Indeed, the first 6 months period was dedicated to design the equipment, ask for studies and quotations, chose the providers and start ordering (WP1).
T6 to T12 was made to put the theory into practice. The program went from the drawings to tangible built equipment.
Our second objective was to qualify the equipment:
T12 to T18 was dedicated to the tests of the equipment. Indeed, once the units qualifications made, the equipment must be fully tested and must be working properly form A to Z.
Once qualifications are made on the equipment, trials campaign can start in order to get the first results and proofs of concept from it.
T18 to T24, the equipment has been tested and the product was conveyed. The end of the program was supposed to be at the end of march 2017 but we asked for an amendment with extension of the program period to October 2017.
T24 to T30, the equipment has been tested in heating conditions.
The program gave us the capacity to put in place a real company organisation to be able to answer to international bid solicitations for any kind of structures. Indeed, we won (against other European manufacturer) an important bid for an international firm and we are articulating the industrial engineering of the microwave equipment.
The T0 to T6 was a very important phase. Indeed, the first 6 months period was dedicated to design the equipment, ask for studies and quotations, chose the providers and start ordering (WP1).
T6 to T12 was made to put the theory into practice. The program went from the drawings to tangible built equipment.
Our second objective was to qualify the equipment:
T12 to T18 was dedicated to the tests of the equipment. Indeed, once the units qualifications made, the equipment must be fully tested and must be working properly form A to Z.
Once qualifications are made on the equipment, trials campaign can start in order to get the first results and proofs of concept from it.
T18 to T24, the equipment has been tested and the product was conveyed. The end of the program was supposed to be at the end of march 2017 but we asked for an amendment with extension of the program period to October 2017.
T24 to T30, the equipment has been tested in heating conditions.
The program gave us the capacity to put in place a real company organisation to be able to answer to international bid solicitations for any kind of structures. Indeed, we won (against other European manufacturer) an important bid for an international firm and we are articulating the industrial engineering of the microwave equipment.
We remind that the main objective of the DEMOS program is to provide techniques and alternative solutions to the agribusiness sector processing companies. This is to enable them to respond by technology the future requirements of their customers them even face the major challenges of our century nutrition: products manufactured with less energy, with more clean energy, products manufactured and stabilized with fewer chemical inputs for increased health, best quality less allergic, more digestible nutritional products also globally products safe, healthy, and tasty. Of course a technology service products but able to meet the challenges of the world industrial, transferable and can be integrated in the process of transformation of plants, compatible for cost.
Electromagnetic fields in the sense of their physical abilities are able to respond to many of these issues. Of course, other physical processes as the high pressures are also great capacity but they also abut also in industrial deployments. The synthesis of the literature shows that others before us have shown these interests and opportunities of use of electromagnetic fields: but the work stopped at laboratories and not successful to drill to the industrial world. This is the challenge we want to pick up with DEMOS.
For this we must repeat the procedure at the source. Indeed we find in the bibliography of the data on the dielectric properties of materials, but never put into correlation with mass heat capacity of this same material. No plant matrix may happen to a precise characterization and dynamics: for this we developed for the purposes of the DEMOS program tests HF cell to obtain a record of precise characterization, 20 to 120 ° C, and for analyzing the kinetics of the dielectric behavior of each vegetable matrices we have to deal. It's this study that we were able to confirm the precise dimensions of the applicator for the needs of the oilseeds in wp3 cooking program.
The first meetings to develop the program with our pilot clients clearly show potentials that go well beyond the oilseeds sector or dried fruit seeds. For example, the problem of control of parasitic insects in seeds of grains by pulsed microwave, for example the storage phase of decontamination, for example extraction of active plant principles
Today, and with the several meetings we made, we definitely know that the CWR can bring a real solution to this oilseed industry.
Indeed, their profitability is more and more put in danger. As time passes, especially on rapeseed, less the profit are made on those processes.
We need to bring a consequent improvement on the pressability of the seeds in order to move the cursor and push the balance on our side.
Indeed, today, the value is in the oil and the reason why they are still using hexane for extraction is because they don’t want to spend too much money on the power put on the press and they prefer the solvent method to make sure that there is absolutely no oil left in the cake.
But the cake and its organic values are completely destroyed by the solvent process.
If we want to conquer the market, what we absolutely need to prove is that the profitability is much better when they will only use three steps of process instead of 5 (removal of solvent extraction and flattener). This would be a massive change into their process.
But for that, it needs a lot of time and patience.
Food degradation by cooking systems is also known in other sectors as oilseed-derived proteins. We have worked on the problem of the treatment of oxidative enzymes in the cooking of vegetables, or acrynalides in the processing of flours. For all these topics microwave cooking is a response.
Feeding more people on the planet with fewer inputs will improve the quality of heat treatments at cooking
Electromagnetic fields in the sense of their physical abilities are able to respond to many of these issues. Of course, other physical processes as the high pressures are also great capacity but they also abut also in industrial deployments. The synthesis of the literature shows that others before us have shown these interests and opportunities of use of electromagnetic fields: but the work stopped at laboratories and not successful to drill to the industrial world. This is the challenge we want to pick up with DEMOS.
For this we must repeat the procedure at the source. Indeed we find in the bibliography of the data on the dielectric properties of materials, but never put into correlation with mass heat capacity of this same material. No plant matrix may happen to a precise characterization and dynamics: for this we developed for the purposes of the DEMOS program tests HF cell to obtain a record of precise characterization, 20 to 120 ° C, and for analyzing the kinetics of the dielectric behavior of each vegetable matrices we have to deal. It's this study that we were able to confirm the precise dimensions of the applicator for the needs of the oilseeds in wp3 cooking program.
The first meetings to develop the program with our pilot clients clearly show potentials that go well beyond the oilseeds sector or dried fruit seeds. For example, the problem of control of parasitic insects in seeds of grains by pulsed microwave, for example the storage phase of decontamination, for example extraction of active plant principles
Today, and with the several meetings we made, we definitely know that the CWR can bring a real solution to this oilseed industry.
Indeed, their profitability is more and more put in danger. As time passes, especially on rapeseed, less the profit are made on those processes.
We need to bring a consequent improvement on the pressability of the seeds in order to move the cursor and push the balance on our side.
Indeed, today, the value is in the oil and the reason why they are still using hexane for extraction is because they don’t want to spend too much money on the power put on the press and they prefer the solvent method to make sure that there is absolutely no oil left in the cake.
But the cake and its organic values are completely destroyed by the solvent process.
If we want to conquer the market, what we absolutely need to prove is that the profitability is much better when they will only use three steps of process instead of 5 (removal of solvent extraction and flattener). This would be a massive change into their process.
But for that, it needs a lot of time and patience.
Food degradation by cooking systems is also known in other sectors as oilseed-derived proteins. We have worked on the problem of the treatment of oxidative enzymes in the cooking of vegetables, or acrynalides in the processing of flours. For all these topics microwave cooking is a response.
Feeding more people on the planet with fewer inputs will improve the quality of heat treatments at cooking